Burning Love & Scotch
by rj05
Summary: Another Emison fan fiction. Alison Dilaurentis never knew what love was supposed to feel like, now she has loved and lost the only one person she knew how to love.
1. Burning Love & Scotch

A Rocks glass in one hand and a bottle of scotch whiskey in another.

When she swirls the liquid in the glass and holds it a little higher to look above through the glass, is when she realises that the sun has set long ago, because she now sees darkness instead of the sunlight entering the glass and illuminating the dark liquid turning its mahogany colour auburn.

She has been sitting here alone, in the outdoor seating area of a cafe, a little outside Rosewood since this afternoon, drinking away a bottle of scotch. She chose to come here, because outside Rosewood she is a nobody (_something she learned while she was on the run_), and since she is a nobody, she can be anybody here. No one knows she is the dead girl who isn't dead anymore, so no one looks back at her twice.

She would have taken pains to dress up and disguise herself as herself as her alter ego Vivian, but she didn't. She didn't because it doesn't matter anymore, she had always found solace in being her alter ego self whenever she could not handle what life offered her or whenever pain became too much too handle, but this pain is something she now wants to endure because she brought it on herself, because she knows that there was an innocent soul which she had played with like a child playing with a yo-yo drawing in and spitting it out till it got deformed, got battered and bruised and now is just a shadow of what it used to be. It hurts to know, that this is what she has done to nobel soul, a good heart, a beautiful person, probably one of the best kind of person she ever met.

Life was never too easy for her, she never had a normal childhood that every kid deserves. A father who was never home, a mother with countless extra marital affairs and a stoner elder brother doesn't call for a normal household. Even though she had a family for the sake of it, but she never knew what it felt like to have someone who will have your back or be with you through thick and thin times, she always felt lonely at heart. So, to curb that she covered her lonely heart with an invisibility cloak so that no one can see it and masqueraded herself as a cold heartless bitch everyone knew her to be. Love, compassion, friendship, sympathy were the words which were missing from the dictionary she was handed out.

Then there was Emily, Sweet Emily with a good heart. She came into her life like a ray of sunshine and suddenly Alison realised that Emily was in fact her sun. She warmed her life with her love, she loved her when Ali didn't love herself. She saw through her mask and through her invisibility cloak and shook the walls Ali had so dextrously built around her heart that it felt like an earthquake and the wall tumbled down all at once. It would have been so easy for her to let Emily enter into her heart and to keep her there at this moment but this powerful force scared Ali to her core. She wasn't supposed to feel like this, not for her best friend who happened to be a _girl._

'_And so, the lion fell in love with the lamb, what a stupid lamb? What a sick, masochistic lion?'_

She thought to herself and smiled sadly.

When a waiter tapped her on the shoulder and slid a bill to her table saying 'Sorry Ma'm, We are closing' this made her come back from her rumination. It was 10 at night and she knew these cafes never stayed open later than this. So, she kept a few hundred dollar bills on the table and stood up taking the bottle of scotch and rocks glass with her, she wavered a little while standing up but managed to stay on her two feet. She made way to a nearby grocery store and bought a pack of Davidoff lights, although she was never the kind of person who believed in smoking but tonight was one of those nights. When she reached to her car, she knew she wasn't in a state to drive it to Rosewood and reach there in single piece, so she just put it in drive and slowly, very carefully drove it to the point where there were no people around. She tilted the back rest of her seat and hooked her phone to the audio system of the car and put the songs on shuffle. She knew no one was going to miss her in Rosewood, so this seemed like as good as any other place to spend the night, her father was as always out of town for business and none of her friends wanted her around now, not even Emily. She sighed loudly.

She twisted the cap of scotch bottle and poured some of it into the glass, spilling some in her car, thanks to her already hazy mind. Then she lights one of the cigarettes and put it to her lips and inhales deeply letting the poisonous gas fill her lungs, drawing analogy in her mind of how she has poisoned Emily's life by ushering into it. She then puffs out smoke, hoping that these thoughts will leave with every puff she smoke out.

She tries to concentrate on the song that has been playing on the car audio system while taking a swig of her scotch, letting it burn her insides, the song is music piece from a french movie Amélie, named 'Comptine d'un autre été l'après-midi' (Rhyme of Another Summer Afternoon) by Yann Tiersen, and it seems like that tonight the world is going to make her feel as bad as it could. This music piece that used to make her smile, make her feel hopeful sounds anything but that right now, it makes her reminisce every single thing about Emily, her tanned skin, her dark hair, her chocolate brown caramel eyes (which have the warmth to melt icebergs of Antartica or so Alison believes), her strong arms which always felt like home to Ali (because Emily knows how to hug her right, the way which make her every single problem trickle away), her fragrance (which smells like mild vanilla and something that Ali can't put a finger on, but loves all the same), her soft lips.. The way Emily kissed Ali every time, like everything Ali was and had to offer was all Emily would ever want, like Ali was everything that mattered to her. Argh! and Ali misses that, That feeling of having Emily so close, that she could hear her heart. But, what Emily didn't know was that she was the only one Ali had ever allowed to be so close to her own heart.

Her head is clutter fuck of thoughts about Emily, which she can't escape even if she wants to. But, deep down she knows that she doesn't want to get over this feeling, because feeling like this means that she loved Emily with all her might, the way that she could and she still loves her. Emily is the only reason, she is in Rosewood and is willing to stay. Even if this love doesn't end well, she knows she will always love Emily no matter what and this pain that she is feeling right now is a testament to her love for Emily and she would't trade it for the world. Even if this pain leaves a scar, she would love it, would let this pain carve out Emily's name on her heart, because she know Emily is already permanently in her heart. She is missing Emily like crazy at the moment, hasn't seen her for days, hasn't been near her for a week and hasn't kissed her since 13 days and 20 hours (and it's stupid that she has kept a count), but Emily needs to be kissed every day, every hour, every minute and every second. The pain of missing Emily is suddenly almost tangible that its suffocating her and Ali knows that the only way it can be cured is by seeing the brunette and holding her in her arms and burying her head in the crook of brunette's neck and losing herself in her dark hair.

And so, Alison starts driving with purpose, the purpose to quench her addiction of Emily. Ali can't see correctly in her partly high state, she drives slowly but surely, and she is angry with herself for drinking so much because she wants to get to Emily as fast as possible. She covers the half an hour distance in an hour and reaches near brunette's house by midnight.

She parks her car on Emily's street and gets out of the car, she goes to the side of Emily's house and looks up to the window of her bedroom, and the sight quenches her insides like the feeling of first rain on heated desert. The brunette is sitting by her window seat looking up at the sky, the full moon shines on her face and if it's possible she looks even more stunning in the moonlight. Ali finally feels like she can breathe again, she can literally feel the knots in her stomach loosening up. She holds the trunk of the tree by which she is standing for support because she is feeling light headed now that she has seen the brunette. She feels safe again after so many days by just being here, a little closer to Emily. A lone, brave tear falls down from her eyes to her cheek, because her heart still breaks at the sight of Emily with a pensive look on her face, because this is what Ali would have had if she was brave enough and this is what she lost, She did not just lose her chance at loving someone or being loved but she also lost her only chance at happiness. So, she slumps down next to the tree, with her back supported by the trunk of the tree, and she just keeps gazing at the brunette, hoping that maybe Emily would save her in her dreams. She closes her eyes, and mentally pictures Emily holding her in her arms and slips into slumber with tear tracks still shining on her face.


	2. You Are Still On My Lonely Mind

Alison is A.

Mona is dead.

These two things have been weighing down Emily's mind, like she has been locked in chains weighing 100 pounds and have been dragging them around the town for days. Her heart feels empty, mind dazed, nothing is making sense to her anymore. Her world is spinning out of control.

So, as she sits on the bleachers of school swimming pool waiting for Paige (her on-off-on again girlfriend) to complete her training, she tries to shut her mind completely and rather concentrate on the blue water in the pool. And what is she even doing here? She wanted to head home and sleep off her mental struggle, but Paige had insisted on going to The Brew after practice, on account of the fact that they have not been spending time together even though they are back together now. But, The proximity to pool, and the fact that she can't go in isn't doing any good for her. All she wants to do is immerse herself into that pool and lose herself in it, in the blue depths of the pool, the icy cold blue that makes you shiver at first in anticipation but is somehow still natural to her mind, soul and body, and so, all she wants is to dive in head on and let her mind shut off and her body take over. She closes her eyes and thinks back to the last time she let herself lose in blue depths, and like on cue, Alison's icy blue bright eyes shine back at her in her head. The way those eyes looked at her in the murky darkness of night, as if they were taking in a special screening of her soul in those few moments before she dove head first into them that night, when her heart was thumping in her chest like a drum roll before a grand entrance and then the moment when she let her body take over and give into her desire to be closer to the girl who took her heart and she never could ask for it back. She had kissed Alison long into the night, and Ali had seemed different than ever before, after initial hesitance Ali took control and rolled on top of her and had kissed her back with an aching sort of desperation, like if she stopped now the world would come crashing down.

This now, confuses Emily on so many levels. There are so many questions swarming in her head at the moment, but there are a few questions that are burning a hole inside. Could anyone be that good an actor? Can Ali be this twisted? But most of all, Is Ali really the enemy?

She is back to where she started, this 'trying not to think' thing won't just work for her. She is saved by her train of thoughts when Paige calls her out. Emily hadn't even realised that the practice has gotten over and Paige was standing next to her, changed and ready to go. They both make their way to the Emily's car in relative silence.

'So how was your practice?' Emily asks, trying to break the silence and hanging on to any way she can be saved from her own head.

'Practice was fine, there is a meet coming up after the winter break.', Paige says a bit hesitantly, probably knowing that swimming is still a touchy topic for Emily.

'I'm sure you'll do great', Emily replies, keeping her gaze on the road ahead.

Paige holds Emily's hand and smiles appreciatively to her when Em looks at her. Emily feels a twinge of guilt, because Emily knows she is definitely fond of Paige, she is just not sure that she is IN love with her. She has been wondering if she jumped back into this relationship again because things got out of control with Ali or because she still had feelings for Paige. She can't seem to form an answer. The other reason, she is feeling guilty is because they were supposed to talk about it before getting back together, she had planned on telling Paige about her night with Ali, but she isn't sure about it anymore, because somehow it all still feels like a dream and she doesn't want to form the words out loud and taint their memory, and she knows Paige would be really upset. So, she reasons with herself that its better not to talk about it yet as it sure did not mean anything for Alison._ She isn't sure about her reasoning anymore though. _

They both get out of the car and headed to The Brew.

The next hour or so, went by in ease. They chatted about different topics ranging from final days of school, the upcoming christmas ball, the dresses they would wear to it, deliberately avoiding any serious topics. Emily couldn't be more thankful to Paige about that.

Around 7pm, they left the brew.

'Em!' Paige called out to Em when they were both near Em's car.

And then it happened, She turned her around and pinned Emily to the car and kissed her passionately. Emily was frozen, it was like a thunder lightening had fallen upon her and the skies opened their gates and a special celestial announcement took place only for Emily's ears, heart now knew what was wrong. What was weird was that..

_She felt like she is cheating on Alison by kissing Paige._

Could it be anymore messed up?

Emily pulled away and calmly, caressed Paige's arm and smiled and then took off in her car.

Ugh! It's 11:30 PM , why can't she go to sleep already?

'Why?' is one question that she has been asking herself and to her skies time and again nowadays.

She gives up trying to fall asleep now, and goes to sit at her window seat, Thankful to her parents that all those years ago they have been thoughtful enough to place a window seat in her room, which has been her companion in all her troubled times. She pulls on a cardigan around her before adjusting in her favorite position because its first week of November and it has started to get a little chilly around here.

She sits back with resolve to sort through her feelings, which have been all over the place lately. She knows that Alison is A (or does she?). Its what everyone believes, that's what Spencer, Aria and Hanna have been talking about all this time. But, Emily knows its crazy to believe that, because she was there the night Alison was attacked and how scared she was and how she had to hold her for hours in her arms to get her to breathe normally (and the fact, that Ali had hold on to her tighter wasn't lost on her). Could Ali be so twisted that she skips the comforts of her home and settled life for two years just to play with the four of them? Could she be so aberrant that she murders someone? And that thought alone sends chills down her spine. She pushes that thought back.

Although, she will never accept it in front of her friends but she knows that she knows Ali the best, she knows her from what she is on the inside than what she shows to the world. Emily knows that even though Ali can be manipulative and bitchy to the core when required and she can have quite a temper as well, but she knows that Ali CAN NOT kill someone. She has avoided thinking about this for so long, because it was easier to be angry at Ali and think that she has been the reason for all that has gone wrong in her world. It was easier to be angry than face her unresolved and probably irrevocable feelings for the blonde in question. But, she knows she can't keep on blaming for crime as heinous as murder.

That being settled, she knows now, that Ali is not A.

She wonders that will the girls believe her if she reasoned with them. She guesses, not. They would only blame it on Em being naive and trusting Ali because she still has unresolved feelings for her. She doesn't want to imagine how that talk was going to go. She settles to not say a word to the girls about this till she has a hard evidence to support her hypothesis.

She has been staring at the sky above filled with stars for a while now. It's 1 in the morning and she feels tired enough to go to bed when her eyes fall on the ground below and she sees someone by the tree and on first instinct she is scared, because has someone been watching her from there? Is it one of A's minion? Because for the past two years, they have been tortured by this bully so much that now she doesn't even trust for her thoughts to be safe from A's reach. But, when that somebody doesn't move from that place, she looks harder and sees that, that somebody is lounging beneath the tree. She wonders, who in their right mind will be out at this hour in such a chilly weather and then she sees those blonde locks and realises its Alison Dilaurentis beneath that tree. 'What the actual fuck is she doing there?' is all Emily could think, but the sight of the blonde still flutters her heart a little, but she is worried about her at the moment, because Ali is just lying there and not moving.

She gets out of her room as quietly as she can, but grabs a pashmina throw before exiting and heads towards her door and opens it as soundlessly as she can because her mother is in the house and sleeping and she won't appreciate Emily to even step out of the door at this hour. As she moves outside, the cold air messes her hair and she can't believe its this cold, and she thinks that she should have slipped into her Pajama pants instead of coming out here in her shorts, that thought goes out of her head as quickly as it comes. She moves as fast as she could and reached to the blonde.

There she lies, awkwardly by the tree, with disheveled hair and mascara run tear tracks on her face. But, she still looks beautiful to Emily's eyes, but she is wondering why the blonde is here and why was she crying. As she bends down to tap the blonde, she finds her reeking of scotch and what is that smoke mixed with it? Has she gone crazy? She realises that the blonde has passed out and is shivering with cold, she immediately drapes that pashmina around Alison's petite frame. Emily tries to get Alison up, and somehow manages to get Alison on her feet with one arm thrown around her waist, the blonde has her arms around her neck. Emily manages to get her inside the house somehow, and it is going to be a tough trek up the stairs but she can't leave the blonde downstairs as her mother would wonder about her presence in the morning, plus her mother would definitely won't appreciate the scotch stench. She realises the blonde is a little awake as she is mumbling lowly and incoherently against her neck, her breath and her proximity still sends butterflies down Emily's stomach, but she suppresses the thought as she has tougher job at hand.

'Ali, Please just try to move up the stairs and then I'll let you lie down. Please!' Emily tries to coax the blonde.

'Emmmmm.. Just hold me. Please.' Ali whispers.

Emily can't help but smile a little at those words, as the blonde's guards are completely down in this moment. So Emily just holds Ali and draws her in to her body to hold her a little more tightly than before. She feels, the blonde sigh in her arms. She still wonders how can she get such reactions out of the blonde. For several moments they stay fix in that position, before Emily has to break their embrace.

They both take each step up the stairs very slowly and very much in sync, Ali is doing as Emily is telling her to. Emily is still holding her close.

They both enter Emily's room and Emily moves the blonde slightly away from her to get her to lie down on her bed, but Ali keeps her arms around her albeit loosely. As she lowers the blonde on her bed, the blonde pulls her with her. So, now she is hunched down over Ali, who has her arms around her neck. Her blue eyes are open now, still a little unfocussed though as they look into dark caramel eyes, Emily's breath hitches in her throat as this leaves her feeling a little too exposed to the blonde. So, she just caresses, Ali's forehead before pressing a kiss to it. (because Ali with her guards down is too adorable for her tastes and she knows she won't remember this small gesture ,which is only for Emily's benefit, tomorrow in the morning).

Ali inhales deeply and murmurs in a very soft voice but a voice full of longing.

'I have missed you.' as last thoughts before closing her eyes and falling asleep instantly.

Emily freezes hearing those words as she doesn't expect Ali to ever be this open with her feelings. But, she knows by experience that _'Drunken words are sober thoughts'_, and this messes up with her on different emotional levels.

As she frees herself from the blonde's arms and takes a step back from the bed, she speaks to herself before sighing loudly, taking in the view of the blonde sleeping in her bed.

'I have missed you too.'

_**I got tempted to write again.**_

_**Thank you for your kind words and your follows & favorites . They are hugely appreciated.**_

_**As a beginner writer, that is what keeps me going. :)**_

_**So, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter too. Please read and review. **_

_**If, you want you can follow me on twitter: rscotchlove**_

_**(Yes! I do love scotch :D)**_


	3. Flames Just Create Us

Her throbbing head and sudden urge for some orange juice woke her up in the morning.

Her eyes tiredly fluttered open, and the sight sent a jolt inside her so huge, she felt a tsunami wave just washed up her shores. Her unworthy eyes fell upon the incredible, gorgeous brunette lying across her who is unaware of the power she holds on her, she doesn't know that this blonde is so irrevocably in love with her that she would sacrifice her own life before she would let anyone touch a single hair on her head.

Ali's heartbeat goes wild because Emily is lying a little too close, her face merely inches away and her one hand is loosely wrapped around Ali's torso, which implies she didn't sleep this way. But, Ali is thankful for Emily being a messy sleeper because it lands her this position. Ali makes very small, deliberate movements to get closer to Emily as cautiously as she can so as to not wake up the brunette, _her_ brunette. She just wants to be a little closer to her, she actually wants to be a lot closer but she will settle for what she can get. Life has been handing out lemons to her lately, the things that she doesn't even want to think of at this moment, at _this_ precious moment. She just wants to bask in the warmth of her favourite person in the world, wishing for this moment to never ever end, she wants to brand this moment in her mind, the way Emily has carved her space in her heart. She wants to learn every single detail of Emily's face, so that if she never ever see her again, be able to come this close to her, she could still remember her fresh as a day, everyday whenever she closes her eyes. As the seconds pass, her ecstasy gets adulterated by melancholy, because its the transience of moments that is making her forlorn. She just can't get over the fact that it is going to come to an end very soon. That this will soon be another beautiful haunted memory, whose ghosts will come back to taunt her. And, suddenly she feels like she is about to tear up, her vision gets a little blurry, she swipes her palm quickly along the side of her eyes, and scoffs at herself because when did she become such a soft, emotional person? Almost on cue, Emily stirs near her threatening the end of this moment, the fall of the curtains on this single act show.

_All the clocks in the city _

_Began to whirr and chime,_

'_O let not time deceive you, _

_You can not conquer time._

_In headaches and in worries, _

_Vaguely life leaks away,_

_And time will have his fancy,_

_To-morrow or to-day._

_The end. _

_Audience gets up from their seats to clap._

Ali closed her eyes to keep up her nonchalance. Emily opened her eyes, but did not move instantaneously away from Alison, even though it lasted just a few seconds, this very small gesture by Emily which would go unnoticed to third person's eye made Ali calm a little bit because probably they are not that far gone yet. Emily moved a little and Ali opened her eyes, she found Emily standing near her side of the bed, she looked at Ali and suddenly a translucent wall of awkwardness fell between them. Ali sits back, resting her back by the headboard, realising that she is too hungover to stand and function properly. The happenings of last night, rush through her head. (The things that she remembered, and some other hazy bits). She remembers getting in her car, missing this brunette like crazy, driving in her high state, remembers watching Emily's face who was sitting on her window seat. She thinks to herself, Could she have acted anymore stupid? But she knows she has, that's why she is here in this room. She buries her head in her hands.

Ali doesn't realise when Emily comes and stands by her side of the bed, she taps her on the shoulder, and hands out aspirin and water to her, and stands there looking at Ali intently while she swallows the pills.

'So are we going to talk about last night?' Emily breaks the awkward silence.

Alison remains silent, because she doesn't know how to respond to that, she guesses Emily must have found her passed out outside of her house and have been kind enough to bring her in, she has some hazy memory of the night gone by, definitely remembers the feeling of Emily holding her in her arms and why would she do that? She despises her, believes that She is 'A'. Something is missing, she wonders what did she say to Emily in her inebriated state.

'What were you doing outside my house? Why were you crying Ali?' Emily says softly and, is again the one who breaks her train of thoughts.

Ali feels the blood rise to her cheeks making them red, because for once she has no idea how to answer something, and mostly in scenarios when she doesn't have an answer to something or doesn't want to answer something (it usually is latter) she retorts, but she doesn't want to use it on Emily because if she can't try to win her back right now, she will definitely try it later once her plan against 'A' executes perfectly and she doesn't want to add insult to injury.

'Did..Did you come here to.. to… see me?' Emily manages to form the words and say them out loud.

Oh! She so wants to say YES! out loud and get it over with, tell Emily how she is unable to stop thinking about her and how there is a gaping hole in heart since the day Emily turned her back on her before telling her that she is done with her now. But, she can't because she understands the game now, it is better to keep her (All of them, but specially_ her_) at bay and carry on her plans, because this is a war and there has been enough collateral damage, and if A knew the position that Emily holds in her life.. She doesn't even want to think about the consequences.

'Ugh! Are you seriously going to give me a silent treatment? Huh? Is this another topic going into the pile of things we never talk about?' Emily is getting agitated with blonde's silence and she is pacing through the room now.

'This was a mistake' Ali speaks lowly, mostly to herself while pinching the bridge between her nose. When she opens her eyes she sees pained expression on Emily's face who has stopped pacing around and has stopped dead in her tracks looking at her. It shreds through Alison's heart that after all this time she can only be the cause of hurt in Emily's life, Emily quickly tries to change her expression and it is now replaced with anger again.

'Yes, because all of _this_ has been one big mistake to you.' Emily speaks gesturing the space between them to signify whatever little relationship or whatever you can call it that they had.

'That's not what I meant' Ali speaks looking down at the ground, her bitch act with which she was masquerading along the halls of Rosewood high is down now.

'Then what do you mean? Because I sure as hell can't figure it out.'

'I should go back to my house.' Ali says meekly, unable to look into Emily's eyes, the eyes that she loves full of contempt towards her.

'You are not going anywhere till you answer my questions.' Emily plainly states.

Knowing that there is no way out of this mess that she herself has created and the look on Emily's face makes her stay because even today, it is hard to leave the brunette and walk away. The intensity of her feelings for Emily still surprise her every single time.

'You won't understand Em and believe me you don't want to. Remember you were _done_ with me?' Exhaustion is evident in her voice.

'Maybe I want to understand now.' Emily replies back slowly and lowly.

It leaves Alison speechless because she never thought that she will ever get a chance to talk to Emily and explain her side of story ever, because she never thought the brunette will ever be interested in listening to her side of the story or even trust her words. Don't get her wrong it's not like she is willing to recount her tale to everyone, it's just that Emily has always been special to her, her exception to everything she was and everything she believed in.

'But I am 'A', remember? I'm the one who killed Mona, How can you even share the same air as me?' Ali retorts, because this accusation put by Emily on her, _fucking_ hurts.

It was Emily's turn to look down on the ground, she mumbles, 'I don't think so anymore.'

Dark tranquility fills the room as both the girls finally make eye contact, Emily looks apologetical and Alison's tired eyes look back at Emily's. Emily notices the dark circles forming under Ali's eyes and wonders if the blonde has been sleeping at all lately? Her heart aches for this girl. She takes half a step forward towards her, because comforting this blonde comes naturally to her. Ali mirrors the movement and takes a full step in Emily's direction, just so that she can be a little closer to her. The blonde aches for any sort of contact with her mermaid. She has spent a long time away from her, she is physically unable to put anymore distance between them when the brunette is so close. But both of them do not find it in their hearts, the courage to close that final step worth of distance, one scared of hurting the one she loves and the other being scared of being rejected again. They settle for standing a little closer than before. Both of them have this realisation that they are a part of each other they can't get rid of, the world can throw them miles apart they will come back and fall harder for each other, _into_ each other. They are like magnets, no matter how far they are or whatever obstruction there is in between them, they will always be drawn to each other.

'Ah.. Umm.. Its a relief to know that.' Ali tries to form a sentence.

'Yea! I figured, you _are_ crazy but you can't be so deranged that you put me in a coffin and then save me too.' Emily reasons and earns a small laugh from Ali.

'I am glad to hear your reasoning behind it.' Ali replies back with a small smile tugging at the end of her lips, but her eyes still look sad and tired.

'But, I do have a plan against A .. and .. I can't tell you about it.' Ali continues after a pause because she needs to get this out of her chest and let this girl know that there are still things that she can't share, and its for Emily's safety. Emily nods in understanding but remains silent.

After a few minutes have passed.

Emily takes another half step towards the blonde and says 'So, What do _we_ do now?'

Ali not being able to resist the beautiful brunette any longer, takes another step towards the brunette and slowly puts her arms on her shoulders giving enough time to Emily to jerk her away, but when Emily rests her arms around Ali's hips and draws her closer, Ali's breath hitches in her throat and she just lets out two words against Emily's lips, '_We_ wait'. No more words are necessary as Emily closes the distance between their lips, and a slow dance of their lips begin, they are mostly exchanging their pent up emotions towards each other. The kiss is sweet, it feels like culmination of their troubled times, because when they are in each other's arms all their problems trickle away. Emily tastes something salty on blonde's lips and she realises that Ali has been crying. Emily tries to break their kiss to look at Ali, but when Ali doesn't let go, Emily just holds her tightly in her arms bringing her as close as possible. Their kiss gets passionate as they open the gates of their reserved frustration over being apart, Ali pours her heart out in this kiss, all her longing for this amazing person in her arms. Ali knows that this is her only haven and heaven. Emily finally feels like she found the missing piece of herself.

_Flashback_

'Looks like I can't catch a break', Emily thinks to herself looking at the blonde who is sleeping in her bed, 'This day can't seem to come to an end.' 'But, What was that? All those Ali's antics they still make me fluffy inside. There is something seriously wrong with me?' She is fatigued now, thinking of all the things, it has been a rather long day for her and she is emotionally not in a place to think about all these things. But somehow, sleep is still miles away from her, probably because Alison Dilaurentis is asleep in her bed and if the two nights she spent with her since she has been back are any proof then she can't seem to be able to sleep next to the blonde.

She sighs and goes to her window seat once again, where there is a bookshelf next to the seat. She looks through the books and a dog eared copy of 'Great Expectations' catches her eye. She scoffs at nobody in particular, mostly at her life. She knows she has had that book for too long now, she has it the day that A planted her letter in this book and made her live all her beautiful and troubled times with Ali on that stormy day, but she has kept her distance from the book. This book holds a lot of importance in her life, it is the day she felt for the first time that Ali could probably love her back, it was the first time she had kissed her. But, before today looking at it only reminded her of Ali's absence from her world, the pain of missing her would become unbearable at times but she would think that at least Ali is at a better place than Rosewood, and that she doesn't have to go through what they are going through with A, and that thought used to settle her.

Today, she knows her mind and her heart are both confounding her, so she picks up the book. She lightly runs her hand through the words 'Great Expectations' which adorn the book cover. She opens the book and a few pages later there is a page which has been folded, instinctively she goes to that page and there is a passage which has been highlighted, her heart beat quickens at the words she sees, but she reads through, a quote by Pip.

_Once for all; I knew to my sorrow, often and often, if not always, that I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace, against hope, against happiness, against all discouragement that could be._

'Hah' she makes an attempt to laugh, but her heavy heart lets out an imprisoned tear instead. Those words are as true as always and she is in too deep now, that she would ever be able to resurface. God knows she has tried a lot, battled her way, but this love that she harbours for this beautiful blonde has never faded away, time and distance have only amplified her desire for her.

She turned a few more pages and stopped at another quote, by Miss Havisham.

_Love her, Love her, Love her! If she favours you love her. If she wounds you, Love her. If she tears your heart to pieces - and as it gets older and stronger, it will tear deeper - Love her, Love her, Love her!_

She doesn't even think she has a choice than to _Love her._

_**Thank you guys for your kind words in the reviews, your follows & favourites. As I said earlier, they are keeping me going. I really appreciate you taking out your time and reading this.**_

_**As I am writing this story, I am also finding myself as a writer and I have realised that I lack the patience for proof reading and editing (I promise you, I am working on it). So this may have errors, but please bear with me. **_

_**I am really glad to have found this website and this community, it has inspired me to write (An idea, I had been toiling with for too long). :)**_

_**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter. Please read & review.**_

_**If, you want you can follow me on twitter: rscotchlove**_

_**Cheers! Until next time.**_


	4. Star Crossed Lovers

_She looked like our kiss broke her, and her expression was breaking me. _

No matter how close they get, the ache in Emily's heart for this blonde never gets away. Alison is in Emily's arms, standing as close as she possibly can, there is not an inch of space between them. Their embrace is so intimate, that it feels like they might melt down into one person. But the look on Ali's face, her sad blue eyes which still have some unshed tears swimming in them, that is what is breaking Emily's heart. Her hand instinctively, caresses her cheek wiping away blonde's tears, she leans forward a little and nudges Ali's nose with her own. Ali closes her eyes, even these small little touches by her mermaid fix something deep inside her. She rests her forehead on Emily's and can't help but smile at the simplicity of this moment.

Emily moves and presses a kiss on Ali's head where there is a scar from when A slammed a rock to her head, she knows Ali hates that scar, she leans down to kiss Ali's forehead, hoping her kiss will soothe the creases on blonde's forehead. She, then moves a little south to kiss blonde's closed eyes, so that when she opens them again, they somehow won't be sad anymore, that there won't be anymore tears in her eyes. Her hands move to hold Ali's hand and she intertwines their fingers, breaking their embrace she moves towards her window seat with the blonde in tow. They sit side by side, Ali turns so that she won't break their gaze. Ali doesn't want another sight to cross her eyes than that of this woman who is sitting in front of her, because she was searching for those eyes for too long and now that they are looking into hers the way she has been wishing for, full of love and promise, she doesn't have the heart to look away, _ever._

Emily looks back at Ali and sees her eyes' silent screams. She wishes she knew what the blonde was thinking, because this is troubling her. She has never seen Ali look so broken, so vulnerable.

'Ali, Talk to me. Please' Emily encourages Ali to speak, because she can't bear to look at Ali's broken expression.

Ali looked like she has been broken from her trance.

'I think I finally understand the meaning of the term, 'Star crossed lovers'.' Ali speaks with a slight chuckle.

'Atleast, it is better than unrequited love, because you know, nothing is as unattractive as that.' Emily replies back with a small laugh to hide her nervousness at the mention of the word, 'lovers' to define them which came from Ali, she is sure about her feelings about this particular blonde _now_, but never in her wildest dream she ever thought that they will be reciprocated, the thought that it was all for practice for Ali is so deep seated in her heart because of the earth shattering heart break she had to handle at such a tender age has taken its place in her conscience. Even though, Ali did tell her that her feelings were not one sided and that those kisses weren't for practice, but she has trained her heart and mind to not give in. But, that foolish muscle in the middle of her chest was betraying her and wanted to fall for it. Still, the pieces of her heart, because of her first love that remained unrequited, poked her chest like shards of glass, and threatened to come out.

_To burn with desire and keep quiet about it is the greatest punishment we can bring upon ourselves._

Ali picked up on Emily's hesitance and confusion over her labelling them as 'star crossed _lovers'. _

She got up from where they were sitting and stands in front of Emily, her hand outstretched for Emily to take.

'Would you come with me?' Ali asks in a low voice hoping Emily would not deny her.

'Where?'

'Somewhere, Trust me I am not going to kidnap or murder you.' Ali said, trying to make light of the situation.

They got out of Emily's house, locking the door as Pam went out early in the morning to do some christmas shopping. Ali lead the way to her car.

'What's that smell?' Emily asks scrunching her nose.

Ali looks confused at first but then realises that its the smell of cigarette she smoked last night in her inebriated state, and looks apologetically at Emily.

'Since when did you start smoking? Ali'

'Last night.' Alison states simply, while strapping the seat belt.

'Ahan! Is this part of your changed personality? Are you going all, 'I didn't choose this thug life, thug life chose me'.?' Emily asked adding a wink at the end.

Ali laughs, letting go of her problems for a minute. Enjoying the company of her absolute favourite person. She can't explain how good it feels to be able to laugh with Emily, because just yesterday she thought she had lost all chance with her, that she won't ever be able to be near Emily or talk to her, hold her and today they sit here in Ali's car talking about nothing important and laughing at small jokes and antics.

'Okay Okay! Now just roll down your window, the smoke smell will leave.'

'Oh! You would know that.'

They drive in relative silence, enjoying the cool air as the afternoon sun shone on them. Ali turns on the radio on her car music system. It plays, 'Cold coffee' by Ed Sheeran. The guitar riffs, blended with Ed's melodic voice and the company of the loved one creates an atmosphere in the car, which warms Ali's heart. She feels the way she felt in the morning when Emily was sleeping next to her, she just doesn't want this moment to end, their drive, this song. These fleeting moments of serenity was all they had in the sea of chaos that their lives were.

_She's like cold coffee in the morning,_

_I'm drunk of last night's whiskey and coke._

_She'll make me shiver without warning, _

_And make me laugh as if I'm in on a joke._

_And you can stay with me forever_

_Or you could stay with me for now._

Inevitably, the drive and the song both come to an end, as they reached at the spot, _their spot_. Emily smiles to herself as she recognises the place, _the kissing rock_.

This place has been their spot since the time, Ali brought Emily there for the first time.

Ali takes hold of Emily's hand as soon as they get out of the car, she intertwines their fingers. She likes the feeling of having their hands intertwined like this, it feels oddly intimate even though it is such a simple thing.

They make their way to the clearing in the middle of tall trees, there is a dusty old rock that sits in the middle of the clearing, with their initials still hooked on it.

They reached to the rock and Ali makes Emily sit on the rock and she stands in front of her.

'Ali, why did you bring me here?' Emily asks, confused about their little excursion.

'Umm.. I brought you here because there are things I need to say and they are way over due, and I just wanted to do it at a place which meant something to both of us.' She blurts out in a go, visibly nervous about what she is going to say. The blonde twisting her fingers. She starts pacing around, trying to calm her nerves.

'Ali' Emily calls out looking directly into Ali's eyes. Ali stops pacing around and looks back at Emily, every time she looks into Emily's eyes , she gets a view of her beautiful soul, her heart swells and threatens to beat out of her heart.

Ali sighs loudly and starts.

'Remember the last time we were here? I asked you to sneak away with me ditching the sleepover while the girls slept at my house, and dragged you over here. I remember everything about that night, you looked so confused.' Ali speaks smiling, looking far away into the light that came from the gap created by tall trees standing close to each other.

'You looked so beautiful that night when the only light shining were that of the moon above and the lantern that we carried to guide us in the dark, I sat down to write our initials, you were looking around to make sure that we were safe. I never had to worry about my safety when you were around, you my _Killer.._ I wrote down our initials and encased them with a heart and when you looked at it I remember seeing a look of confusion and hurt pass through your face. I so wanted to tell you then, that it is for real, that this is what I want out of life. I wanted to tell you that you are my rock who keeps me grounded and that we will always be tied to each other because you will always be important to me and wherever in the world I will be, I'll try to make my way to you. But, I couldn't because I was scared, scared of the way I felt for you, the intensity of which still shakes me to my core, I was scared of the world and of being judged. So, I settled for these small little gestures, hoping you will understand and won't write me off completely. I knew at that moment you wanted to ask me so many questions but I kissed you instead translating all my feelings into that kiss, feelings even I did not understand completely at that time and you let me kiss you.' She sighs again, her eyes are distant, they look like she has gone in her head to some other time.

_Your kiss, my cheek _

_I watched you leave._

_Your smile, my ghost_

_I fell to my knees._

'I ran away at the end of that summer, because I thought it was the easiest thing to do, but the true horrors of the world threw me off and proved me wrong. There were so many nights when I wished I was rather in that grave than alive running from unknown danger, you were the only one in my thoughts when I pushed myself to keep going, live through every day. I came back because you asked me to. That day in your room, I told you how I felt but not in so much words, I could do that because A was gone and with no looming danger, I dared to dream of a future with you. You kissed me that night and that was most alive I felt in years and I was so far gone that I thought that I'll never be able to resurface and lead my life the way I had been for so many years. But, then A came back and everything went spiralling down into the drain.' Ali stops, turns her head to look directly into Emily's eyes and continued.

'But, I need to say it out loud today, because it has been two years since that night and I still feel the same way about you, and probably always will. And, If these past two years have taught me anything it is that, seize every moment because you never know which one will be your last. So, here it goes… I love you. I love you, Emily Fields with everything I have and in every way I am capable of, I am so in love with you. You are the only light in the murky darkness of my life. Your kind eyes, your welcoming arms, your electric lips, your loving touch, your beautiful heart , I don't want to live without them for a single day _now_. I have spent enough time away from you, fighting my feelings for you and it was nothing but torture. I know I have played with your heart and I probably don't deserve to stay in your heart, but if you still have even an ounce bit of feelings towards me promise me that you'll give me a chance to love you when all of this is over, the world around us calms down and the external forces stop thwarting us.' Ali finishes with tears running down her cheeks.

Deadly silence fell over them as the only sounds that can be heard are of the birds chirping at some distance and of Ali sobbing. She is looking down at the ground, her arms are wrapped around her torso trying to keep herself from falling apart as she is kicking the dirt beneath her slowly by her feet.

Emily can't believe her ears, she feels like she has gone in shock and can't be revived back, she doesn't realise for how long she has been sitting there quietly. She always thought of Ali's heart as a closed door, never letting anyone enter, never showing the beauty that stayed just across those doors, she believed that if she knocked on that door hard enough, loud enough that door will finally open and let her enter. This is the first time she found the door wide open waiting for her to enter. '_She loves me, she loved me all this while_.' Emily is suddenly feeling everything happy, angry, sad, heart broken, giddy all at the same time. But, one feeling that stands out above all is the desire for this blonde in front of her. So, she breaks her reverie and stands up from the rock she has been sitting on, she takes two quick steps towards Ali who has been looking down and doesn't realise that Emily is standing in front of her. So, when Emily puts her arm over Ali's arms which have been wrapped tightly around Ali's torso, Ali looks up to Emily, electric blue eyes lock with Dark caramel brown ones and Emily moves her arms instinctively without breaking their gaze. She slowly removes Ali's arms from her torso and make them sit at her own waist, Ali is too lost in Emily's eyes and what she is doing, to make a move. Emily traces the length of blonde's arms with her palms. Ali feels her skin burn under every contact Emily makes with her skin. They never let go of their eye contact. Emily takes a step forward making any space between them vanish, she leans down to press a kiss on Ali's left cheek, and watches as Ali's eyes flutter close due to the proximity, the brunette then kisses her right cheek and then forehead.

'Well, you did mess me up pretty well to let anyone else completely enter my life.' She mumbles while peppering kisses all over Ali's face and neck. She suddenly stops, and Ali almost whimpers at the loss of contact and forces her eyes to open.

'I promise you that you will _always _have a chance.' Emily speaks sincerely looking into Ali's eyes. The heat in their gaze is almost tangible. Ali wants to live forever in the truth of those words.

And with that, Ali leans forward to kiss Emily because she can never get over the feeling of having Emily's lips on hers, it's almost addictive, it's the way their souls communicate, these kisses are her inspiration and once she got a taste of them it turned into an almost insatiable hunger. So, once again she poured all her feelings, her love for this angelic person (the love she now understood) in that kiss and let her lips do the talking, she kisses Emily with a passion unknown before, their kisses have always been hesitant and soft, mostly like testing waters of how far they can go. But now that she has expressed her feelings in words and bared her soul, her deepest thoughts, her best kept secret to Emily there is no holding back, she gives her all to Emily. Emily can only reciprocate back equally, she is still enthralled by what has unfolded. Soon, they become more interested in each other's mouth and tongues than lips and that's another boundary they are breaking today, Ali knows she will never forget today's day. When their tongues tangle and untangle in slow languid movements, all of this feels like music - something that isn't all about the notes you hit, the pitch you perfect or the tempo you pick rather it's about the feeling it draws in your heart.

They part, feeling the need to breathe in and the world around them looks like it changed for forever. When everything looks just the same it has for years, something feels different.

They rest their foreheads against each other's .'I have no idea how I stayed away from you for this long.' Ali speaks.

'I don't think I can stay away anymore.' Emily continues the thought.

'Umm.. We kind of have to, Em. I can't take the risk of A knowing about this. You have suffered enough and I will never be able to live with myself if anything ever happens to you.' Ali had to bring up the dreaded topic, it was inevitable, she had to take a step back literally and figuratively both, she had to form a coherent thought otherwise she would give in to her desire of being with Emily forever in a heartbeat.

'I don't understand, one minute you are saying all these things.. Another..' Emily is trying to make sense of what the blonde just said.

'No, Em.. Not for a second doubt what I just said to you. But you must understand, whoever A is, his sole motive in life is to torture me and what better way can he/she/it/bitch find than to do something to the person who matters the most to me.' Ali grabs Emily's arm and gives it a squeeze gently telling her to just trust her and to follow this last thing she is asking her to do.

'But.. Ali! I can't , I know the danger and I know you are in danger as well and I'm so sorry that I left you out in the open to face it all by yourself. You must know, I won't do it again. I can't do it.. '

'Oh! Em.. I can't deny the fact that, it did hurt like a bitch when you accused me of being A or when you said you were done with me, but I brought it on myself. I gave you enough reasons to not trust me, but it was safer for you that I kept you at bay but I'm not strong enough, I'm a selfish person. I want you in my life in any capacity you are willing to give me. But still, your safety is paramount to me.'

'No you don't understand Ali, I have lived long enough in a world without you and I don't want to do it again. We will keep each other safe. The war is waging and all of us face the imminent danger , if we make it through, then great! we get to be together but what if we don't? I don't want to waste anymore time thinking about 'what ifs' I've had enough of them for a lifetime. Now is all we have.'

Ali was speechless, because what do you say to that? What do you reply to your loved one when they refuse to not love you back? What do you say when all you ever wanted is right in front of you knocking on your door and you just have to open the damn door?

So, she opens the door.

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><p><em><strong>{Author's Note: You guys are amazing. The traffic, the reviews, follows and favourites all of this is more than I imagined. I love reading your reviews, knowing what you liked and what you want. <strong>_

_**I'm sorry I took so long to update, but this chapter is longer than all others before it. I hope you liked it. It got kind of emotional and Ali is letting Emily in completely, no deceit only love.**_

_**I hope you guys like this chapter, please do leave a review, I would love to know what you thought about it. I appreciate constructive criticism as well. I am learning to entertain you with my words and hope that you people will help me with that. **_

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_**Cheers! Until next time. :) }**_


	5. Redolence

_The first stab of love is like a sunset , a blaze of color - oranges, pearly, pinks, vibrant purples.._

Sincere words can act like glue, mending the broken pieces. Loving touches can make the cracks vanish. Emily understood it now, She understood everything. The first love, which hurt her but transformed her also came back to save her, mend her. Her heart which used to ache, the one which she could hear crack inside her, felt like it has finally started to heal. The moments she shared with Ali before she vanished in thin air always meant a lot to her, but somehow their memories felt hollow, because she knew all of that never meant a thing for Alison and she was just another rat in her lab to experiment with, and play with, to practice for the 'real thing'. But now, after Alison said those words to her, she feels different, those same memories which felt hollow , colourless are now the best thing that ever happened, revisiting each memory she can clearly see what Ali was trying to make Emily understand through her silent words. The memories which felt like a cold winter night, making her shiver with uncertainty, Now feel like a summer afternoon when you go to a park and lie down under a tree, close your eyes and let the sunlight play with the leaves of tree casting beautiful shadows on your face, warming your heart.

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><p>Emily Fields always knew that Alison Dilaurentis was a fox - clever, charming, dramatic, charismatic, mysterious, influential and she was a lamb - coy, shy, quiet, thoughtful, Someone always away from the limelight. If you had to divide the girls of Rosewood into categories there were just two, One who worshipped Alison and wanted to be like her or better wanted to be her, And others who hated Alison and wanted her gone so that maybe they could take her position one day. Emily Fields fell in none of the categories, when everyone wanted to be like her, she just wanted <em>her<em>.

That is when she knew that she was different than others.

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><p>Her insane infatuation with her best friend turned into first love in a matter of an evening, the evening when after her swim meet for which Ali stayed and cheered on (In hind sight, she realises that Ali never missed any of her swim meets), All of the girls went to the brew to celebrate the victory and Emily's new record time, later everyone left and Ali walked home from school with her. It was late in the evening, the sun had just set and the lamp posts which adorned the street flickered open to give the effect of spot light where they stood. They hugged goodbye to each other when they had to take different roads to their respective houses. The hug which lingered on for a few extra seconds, when they were disengaging themselves from the embrace Ali's hand stayed at the small of Emily's back, their movements became slow like none of them wanted this to end, and even before she could register her lips were locked to Ali's, she doesn't know how it happened, who initiated it, pretty sure she leaned in too, last thing she remembered was looking into Ali's ocean blue eyes. The moment got over as soon as it came by. Ali quickly turned away and left, she stood there for sometime frozen in that position trying to remember every single detail of what happened, the look on Ali's face, the touch of her lips, her intoxicating fragrance, the orange glow of the light from the lamp post.<p>

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><p>Alison Dilaurentis was a beauty and a beast all in herself, her claws came out whenever someone challenged her authority.<p>

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><p>It was the start of the summer of their freshman year, they all went to Noel's cabin for a party Alison invited all of them to. After a few shots of vodka they were all a little buzzed, all of them headed in different directions, Hanna was in conversation with Sean, Spencer and Andrew discussed their club meetings, Aria was also somewhere Emily couldn't find her, because her attention was on this enchanting blonde who turned heads in whatever direction she walked on. She saw a few guys swoop in trying to strike a conversation with her. Emily felt a tap on her shoulder, she found a guy towering over her whom she recognised as a member of school lacrosse team. He talked, she replied, he flirted, she smiled, he made a move, she denied him, he did not take no for an answer, But before she could rebel, she found a hand curling over her wrist, and she saw Ali's claws coming out and tearing the no name guy down. She turned to Emily and probably saw the hurt, fear and disgust over the guy's acts written all over her face because she quickly wrapped Emily in a tight hug, holding her as close as possible. She whispered against Emily's neck slowly, quietly "Mine". Emily can still remember the feeling she got from hearing Ali's possessive tone, that feeling of something filling you and emptying you all at once.<p>

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><p>That summer was their summer of romance, without that label on it. Revisiting those memories feel like she is repainting them, the black &amp; white memories are full of vibrant colours now.<p>

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><p>Sleepovers were always a bit of a scary deal for Emily, since she became aware of her love for her best friend and since she has been shot down cruelly. She was well aware of the fact that she was a messy sleeper, Ali's insistence and tricks to sleep next to her never helped her cause. She used to stay up late trying to figure out a way that she won't end up closing that small distance between them whilst sleeping, she never found one.<p>

One beautiful summer morning after their sleepover, she got up to the feeling of Ali's lips against hers, she felt a shiver and warmth running through her. She could feel their legs tangled with each other's, Ali's arm thrown over her torso. But, it ended within seconds and Alison got up and left so quickly, that Emily couldn't even process what had happened.

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><p>Thinking back and revisiting each memory is easy, she can feel blonde's confusion and struggle with her feelings. But, back then these were the things that frustrated her, made her doubt everything. Her sweet smile when it was just them two and her snide remarks in crowd, her innocent stares when no one was watching and her silence over their moments shared. Her eyes said something and her mouth recounted another tale. It always pained her to watch the blonde's shadow make an about turn from her, the moments when she let go of her hand, the moments when she walked away without looking back once. She thought she will never forget the nights she stayed up trying to make sense of what was going on between them, but now they don't matter she now looks forward to nights when Ali won't <em>only<em> be in her thoughts.

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><p>She remembers her lingering touches, her holding her hand during scary movies marathons, she remembers her carefree laugh, the glint in her mischievous eyes, her long flowing, halo creating blonde hair, these were her ghosts for the two years that she was gone. Those eyes used to haunt her dreams, that laugh used to ring in the radio of her head almost cruelly. She willed herself to move on, She repeated in her mind the chant that 'she has moved on' because you she had to, because you can't stay in love with a dead person. Underneath, she did not know if she ever will. She searched for all those things quietly in every single person she dated, her ocean blue eyes, blonde hair, her floral fragrance, she compared and failed because, those weren't the only things she missed about the blonde but most of all she knew there was no one like Alison Dilaurentis, nothing fazed her, she was kind of amazing.<p>

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><p><em>She came back.<em>

_She kept her distance._

_She was finally sure of her feelings._

_She hated that she again felt fifteen. _

_She wanted to resign herself to her love._

_She wanted to not be her pill for vulnerability._

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><p>Now she leans against the headboard of her bed, Does it even matter now? <em>No<em>. All she ever wanted since the day she knew and understood the concept of love is right there in her arms, trying to drift off to sleep. She will never forget this glorious day, when all her wishes came true. Yes! Wishes do come true.

"What are you thinking about?" Ali asked raising her head from Emily's chest and looking at her.

She smiled back at her and said, "Nothing."

She wrapped her arms around the blonde and squeezed her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her forehead she mumbled. "Goodnight."

Ali can't help the smile that creep up to her lips, She presses a kiss on Emily's chest where her heart resides, listening to her heart beat which is definitely her favourite sound now.

"I love you" she says, marvelling the ease with which those three words now tumble from her lips.

"I think I always will, love you." replied back so sincerely that it shocked Ali.

'_Maybe she fell in love with the way Emily loved her, so purely.'_

She thinks back to the quote she once read, '_Whatever our souls are made of, her and mine are the same_.'

She believes in soul mates _now._

She can lie back and rest for one more night in Emily's arms, and they will face the dangers of the world outside tomorrow,_ together_.

_They are the hunters, we are the foxes. And We Run._

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><p><em>Flash forward<em>

Alison shifted to the west coast for her girl, because that's where her home is. Emily is her home. She knows how much Emily loves the water, the sun and the sand. The look on Emily's face whenever they are at the beach makes every thing worth it.

They are out on the beach on this particular day because Emily insisted for Ali to come along as apparently the weather is amazing today and it's both sunny and windy at the same time and she also teased the blonde for being lazy, and that just hurt her pride. Not that she was going to say no to Emily to go to the beach for a walk but that comment just made her get ready quickly. Emily just knows the correct buttons to press to make blonde do anything. This is both irritating and exhilarating to Ali depending on how Emily uses her power, Like it was exhilarating this morning when they were in bed and now it is just irritating.

When the brunette is done running around, playing with the water she makes her way to Ali who is standing by the shore watching her girl being her adorable self. She huffs when she reaches and stands in front of Ali.

"I got you something", she says digging her pocket and brings out a silver chain with a heart pendant and puts it into Ali's palm.

Ali looks at her incredulously, unable to bring herself to believe that she got so lucky in the love department. She looks at the pendant and there is a small _EF+AD _inscribed at the back of it.

"Emily" , Ali looks at her, speechless, Emily still leaves her breathless even after 6 years of being together. She thinks she falls in love a little more each day that she gets to spend with her brunette.

"May I?" Emily takes the chain from Ali's hand and gestures her to move so that she can put it around her neck.

"It falls just where it needs to be to rest peacefully against your heart, so you just need to breathe to feel my heart against yours now." Emily says looking deep into Ali's eyes.

They seal that promise with a kiss, as the waves of the sea reach and recede the shore. The world around them melts away, as their souls communicate with each other.

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><p><em><strong>Author's Note:<strong>_

_**Hey! There. So I came around with this update sooner than regular. **_

_**Your response to last chapter was amazing. **_

_**I can thank you all every single time for your reviews, follows and favorites. I love knowing what you thought about what I wrote and your constructive criticism is also always welcome.**_

_**So, I just wanted to go down their memory lane and visit important moments. I have not included the moments that you have already watched on the show. These are the moments I think went on between Emily and Alison before Ali disappeared. Other than that, I seriously believe that, that library kiss was not their first kiss, none of them looked hesitant enough. Emily looked more unsure and hesitant when they kissed in the 100th episode. First kisses aren't that easy and natural as the library kiss. She was kissing her best friend. (Come on!) Let me know if you agree or disagree. **_

_**In another news, I have some very important exams coming up. So, I'll be away for sometime. But, with me you can never know I might get bored or the mood may strike and I might just update. Just, don't keep your hopes high for a quick update though. I am sincerely sorry for that.**_

_**Anyways, let me know if you guys liked this chapter.**_

_**If you want, you can follow me, talk to me.**_

_**Twitter: rscotchlove**_

_**Tumblr: rscotchloveDOTtumblrDOTcom**_


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